Caster

Casters were used to sprinkle sugar, salt and spices, which were still considered luxury items, onto foods at the table.  The largest caster, used for sugar, is encircled by a bold molding and four masks sporting shell headdresses.  The silversmith is Paul de Lamerie, whose French Protestant, or Huguenot, parents fled to England to escape religious persecution.  Lamerie excelled in the London silversmith trade, creating one of the most prolific and innovative workshops.  Lamerie's unparalleled talents are displayed in his superior craftsmanship, as seen in the intricately fashioned lids of the set of three casters.  Divided into eight panels, the design is composed with piercings in the shape of a fleur-de-lis, a stylized, three-petaled iris that is the armorial emblem of the kings of France.